The advancement of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology involves the safe transition from current programs requiring occasional on-board human intervention and awareness or full autonomy in test environments to enabling safe, fully-autonomous systems with capabilities equal to or greater than human drivers in virtually all driving scenarios. This transition towards “Level 4” and “Level 5” autonomy entails the goal of removing human involvement entirely in the operation of the AV in typical and unexpected traffic scenarios on public roads and highways.